'Dark Knight' debuts at No. 1

LOS ANGELES, July 20 (UPI) -- Holy blockbuster, Batman! "The Dark Knight" is a summertime smash in U.S. theaters, Box Office Mojo said Sunday.

In its debut weekend, the comic book-inspired action movie, starring the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, tallied an estimated $155.34 million in gross receipts. That easily out-distanced the $27.61 million pulled in by the weekend's other headline-grabbing movie, "Mamma Mia!," the musical romantic comedy featuring the songs of the 1970s Swedish pop rock group ABBA and starring Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgard and Pierce Brosnan.

Coming in at No. 3 was "Hancock" at $14 million, followed by "Journey to the Center of the Earth" at $11.91 million at No. 4 and "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" at $10.04 million at No. 5.

Filling out the Top 10 were "Wall-E" with $9.81 million in estimated ticket sales; another new movie, "Space Chimps" -- an animated children's movie featuring the voices of Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines and Jeff Daniels -- at $7.35 million; "Wanted," $5.1 million; "Get Smart," $4.09 million; and "Kung Fu Panda," $1.75 million.

Gone from the top tier were "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl."